There are good day. There are bad days. And then there are those days that just make you despair of the infantile character of the human race…
A Tory councillor who suggested gay people were paedophiles was given a conditional discharge today.
Peter Willows, who has been a councillor in the UK’s self-styled gay capital Brighton and Hove for 12 years, made the comment at a mayor-making reception in May.
The 75-year-old was asked by the editor of a gay magazine whether he thought a gay councillor was a paedophile, Brighton Magistrates’ Court was told.
“James Ledward asked Willows, ‘Do you think Paul’s a paedophile?”‘ prosecutor David Packer said.
“Willows replied to that with, ‘I know you are not Paul [Elgood], it’s the other gays’.” The barrister said the words “equated gay people with paedophiles”.
Willows, who the court heard has “fixed, traditional views on marriage, church and families”, was found guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting works or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress after a day-long trial.
He had denied the charge, which was brought under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. Chairwoman of the Bench Pauline Quinton said: “It’s quite clear that you did use the word gays not guys, despite your denial.
“Because you knew that both men were gay…your remarks would inevitably be insulting.”
But she added that the comments were not borne from hostility towards people who were gay. Willows was given a conditional discharge and told to pay £250 costs.
Yeah, right guys. That’s real fucking clever isn’t it. Let’s stitch-up the local homophobic dinosaur and teach the reprehensible old scrote a fucking lesson he’ll never forget.
Whatever you might personally think of Willows’ views of the gay community, and frankly equating homosexuality and paedophilia is about as a foul as such views get, if our pair of fearless gay avengers think they’ve somehow struck a blow against the evils of homophobia then they’re a bigger pair of prize idiots than even this case has makes them look.
The only thing that this kind of sanctimonious crap ever achieves is to harden attitudes. No one who harbours an irrational hatred against the gay community is going to ever read a story like this and come away from it with the idea that maybe their view of the world is just that bit fucked-up and offensive. Their sympathies will automatically lie with Willows, who they’ll see as having been royally stitched up by a pair of conniving queers and then dragged into court to be publicly humiliated and pilloried for being a ‘traditionalist’.
They couldn’t have done much worse if they’d beaten the living shit out of the old codger on the spot.
That’s just real fucking clever isn’t it. Sending a very public message to the prejudiced that simply confirms and reinforces their prejudices; one that bolsters their belief that the system is already being stacked against them. Fuck the moral high ground, let’s just have a bit of petty revenge on the antiquated old twat, who, if the content of this letter from the local business community about this incident is anything to go by…
Whilst collectively we are supporters of all political parties and indeed none, we cannot help but note that repeated comments have been made against the city’s diverse communities over the years by Peter Willows and too often gone unchallenged. Last year we saw the good work of our local LGBT Police Team undermined by his unwise comments. Sadly, last month he failed to support a council motion to mark the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), with the flying of the rainbow flag from Brighton Town Hall. Through the letters to the editor page in the Argus he has been critical of the Pride celebrations and in his latest outburst he suggests LGBT people are not normal and paedophiles.
…is already doing a damn fine job of painting himself into a corner and making himself look like a complete arsehole all by himself and without your assistance.
And as for crap like this, from the same letter…
We call on Councillor Willows to resign from the Council. He is not fit to make decisions which affect the City’s 35,000 strong LGBT population. Furthermore we call on the Conservatives to expel him from their party, and demonstrate that the recent commitments of their national leadership to communities such as ours are not just hollow words, but are followed through with deeds.
Yet again, we seem to be forgetting that we still live in a fucking democracy and that the only right and proper place for dealing with such matters is the ballot box.
If Willows had aired his appaling views in a public arena then, fair enough, you’ve got damn good cause for complaint through the appropriate channels, starting with his local Conservative Association and the Leader of the Tory group on the council - in case you haven’t already worked this out, demanding that the Tories live up to the ‘recent commitments of their national leadership’ means jack shit if they’re only expected to do that with the fucking media breathing down their necks. The real test of the Tory’s commitment to equality (and that of any political party or other organisation) is whether or not they can manage to clean the shit out of their stables without being put under that kind of pressure. Commitments to equality mean something only if such commitments are both made and acted upon voluntarily, if people do the right thing because they want to, not because they’re backed into a corner and forced to.
But in this case, Willows didn’t make his comments in public, he made them at a public function, but in what looks for all the world like a private conversation, and only then in response to a deliberately leading question.
The only mitigation for the decision to take this public is if a complaint was, in fact, made to local Tories, and they refused to deal with it or take action against Willows. In that case, then you have some justification for taking things further - although your next step should have the Tory Central Office or perhaps the Standards Board - must as I loathe their getting involved in such matters.
However, when it comes to talking bollocks, its this part of the letter from the business community that completely takes the fucking biscuit…
Finally, we ask the Police to investigate these comments and act on what we believe to be inflammatory language intended to incite hatred. Such comments are highly destructive to community relations.
What the fuck?
So far as one can tell from the reports of the trial, it would seem that the only people present at the time these remarks were made - at least in earshot - were Willows, Ledward and Elgood, the latter pair both being gay men.
So if Willows intend to incite hatred with his remarks, who was it who was supposed to respond to this incitement? Elgood or Ledward.
I suppose it must a Elgood, as Willows clearly excludes him from the ‘charge’ that homosexuality and paedophilia are synonymous…
Nah. Still don’t make sense. Still sounds like a load of overheated and hysterical bollocks to me.
And the moral of this story?
Look, if you really, seriously think that someone’s private and personal opinions are so downright fucking appalling that they absolutely deserve a come-uppance then, for fuck’s sake, just give them the rope and let them hang themselves.
Don’t get caught tieing the noose and kicking the chair out from under them - that only makes you look like a cunt, not them.
